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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Lotus F1 financial woes continue

Eric Boullier, Gerard Lopez and Kimi

Financial troubles are a part of every midfield and back marker team in Formula 1 and a team that is currently fourth in the constructors championship with a driver second in the drivers standings finds it no different.

German website motorsport-total.com reports that, Lotus, the Enstone based squad that is currently owned by Genii is buried under € 120 million of debt, and though Kimi Raikkonen is hunting down Vettel for the drivers crown this year, the development of their car has almost come to an end.

In an interview to Auto Motor und Sport, Lotus engineer Alan Permane admitted that the team had nothing much more in the development pipeline for 2013.“What was planned has already been developed and will be used in the corresponding race,” he added.

A flailing title bid, financial issues and interest from Red Bull and Ferrari will make Raikkonen's decision easier if his overdue salary is not cleared at the earliest.

“This happened last year, now again so it is not ideal,” said the Iceman.

The team had announced that a consortium called Infinity Racing had bought 65 per cent of the Enstone based team in June.

But later reports said that the deal was not actually done, and in the ensuing delay Lotus and Raikkonen were left waiting for the money.

“We are going to reorganise the financial process of the company,” said team boss Eric Boullier to MTV3.

“We are expecting a large financial investment, which is part of the team’s future plans.

“There may be some delays, but it will be repaired within a few days. It is part of the discussions and we will give Kimi all the answers,” said the Frenchman.

When asked how much longer the deal could take, he said, “We are not very far from it. The package that ensures the future of the company is [being] completed slowly, but we’ll get there.”

And on Kimi he added“He will get all the answers and be able to take a decision within a few weeks.”